1. Student: Ryan Sidari Supervisors: Olivia Lockwood Sherry Randhawa

2.  Lower back pain & causes  Background  Project objectives  Progress so far  Schedule & deliverables  Summary

3.  80% of people will have a back problem at one point during their lives [1]  In South Australia, one quarter of compensation claims are a result of back injuries [2]  $40 million dollars to the state in workers compensation payouts [3]

4.  A cumulative injury to the lumbar region  Stress on discs, ligaments and muscles over time [4]  Forward bending leading cause [5] Load Time

5.  A cumulative injury to the lumbar region  Stress on discs, ligaments and muscles over time [4]  Forward bending leading cause [5] Load Time Tissue failure tolerance Applied load

6.  A cumulative injury to the lumbar region  Stress on discs, ligaments and muscles over time [4]  Forward bending leading cause [5] Load Time Tissue failure tolerance Applied load Margin of safety

7.  A cumulative injury to the lumbar region  Stress on discs, ligaments and muscles over time [4]  Forward bending leading cause [5] Load Time Tissue failure tolerance Applied load FAILURE & INJURY

8.  Physiotherapist driven  “Physio-in-your-pocket”  Monitor user’s posture and give feedback  Early versions of device

9.  Bluetooth  Low power  iPhone app: ◦ Real-time feedback ◦ Reminder system ◦ Review statistics ◦ Calibration ◦ Avatar  Ergonomics: ◦ Circuit board design ◦ Chest and hip straps  Run trials to validate

10.  Research and decide on components  Investigate Bluetooth and develop basic app

11.  Research and decide on components  Investigate Bluetooth and develop basic app

12.  Gantt Chart

13. Research

14.  Gantt Chart Design

15.  Gantt Chart Development

16.  Gantt Chart Testing

17.  Gantt Chart Results

18.  Gantt Chart Final

19.  The main deliverables for the project are the: ◦ Sensors ◦ iPhone app ◦ Results ◦ Thesis Success of the project may be evaluated on two levels: 1) Functionality of device/app 2) Results from laboratory trials

20. Take home messages:  Lower Back Pain not only painful but costly to both the patient and state.  Reduce cause with “physio-in-your-pocket”  SIT & STAND UP STRAIGHT!

21. [1] Hill, D, Lucy, D, Tyers, C & James, L 2007, What works at work? Review of evidence assessing the effectiveness of workplace interventions to prevent and manage common health problems, Corporate Document Services,p35 [ 2] SafeWork SA 2013, Back Injuries: the leading cause of workplace claims, viewed 29 March 2013, [3] SafeWork SA 2007, The Cost, viewed 4 April 2013, [4] Mitchell, T, O’Sullivan, PB, Burnett, AF, Straker, L & Smith A 2008, Regional differences in lumbar spinal posture and the influence of low back pain, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, vol 9 [5] Govindu, NK & Babski-Reves, K 2012, Effects of personal, psychological and occupational factors on low back pain severity in wokers, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, viewed 27 March 2013